Family members reacted Thursday to the tragic news of a family of four, including two toddler girls, who died in a head-on crash in the Palmdale area while on their way to an Independence Day picnic.
The crash was at 10:25 a.m. Tuesday at Sierra Highway and East Avenue M in the Palmdale area, according to a statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Palmdale Station.
The driver of a Kia Sephia northbound on Sierra Highway veered across the center divider for unknown reasons and was struck by an Antelope Valley Transit Authority Van, authorities said.
The dead were identified as Lei'ani Cathey, 20, Bryan Byrd, 21, Lei'niyah Byrd, 2, and Blayre Bird, 1, coroner's Investigator Kristy McCracken said. The van driver was taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, according to the sheriff's department.
"They did everything right, following the rules and something just tragic happened," said Stephanie Byrd, Bryan's mother and the grandmother of the two young girls.
"Pretty much the whole family, I just don't understand," Stephanie said. "Nobody survived out of the whole accident, it's so tragic."
The family was en route from their home in Hesperia to Palmdale for a holiday picnic.
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"It's like, where do you pick up the pieces?" Stephanie said. "Where do you start? What do you start from? It's just so hard to just deal with."
If you would like to donate to a GoFundMe to help the victims' family, you may do so here.
City News Service contributed to this report.
